Queensborough Bridge

1912

Gloucester: his first outdoor paintings in America

Seeking inspiration, Hopper travels to Gloucester, Massachusetts, and makes his first outdoor paintings in America; among them is “Squam Light”, the first of many lighthouse paintings to come.

22 February – 5 March 1912

The Independents exhibition, at Henri's initiative

From 22 February to 5 March 1912 Hopper is included in the exhibition of The Independents, a group of artists, at the initiative of Robert Henri, but makes no sales.

1913

His first sale: “Sailing” at the Armory Show

At the Armory Show in New York Hopper sells his first painting, “Sailing” (1911), painted over an earlier self-portrait, to the businessman Thomas F. Vietor for $250. The thirty-one-year-old hopes his first sale will lead to others in short order, but his career will not catch on for many more years.

1913

His father's death, and the move to 3 Washington Square North

In September 1913 his father, Garret Henry Hopper, a dry-goods merchant who had retired at forty-nine, dies; shortly afterwards Hopper moves to an apartment at 3 Washington Square North in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, where he will live for the rest of his life.

1914

A commission for movie posters

In 1914 Hopper receives a commission to create movie posters and handle publicity for a movie company; he does not like illustration, but he remains a lifelong devotee of cinema and theatre, both of which he treats as subjects and which influence his compositional methods.

1915–1923

Turning to etching

At an impasse over his oil paintings, in 1915 Hopper turns to etching; by 1923 he has produced most of his approximately 70 etchings, many of them urban scenes of Paris and New York, as well as some posters for the war effort.